Syncthing-Fork vs elFinder
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Syncthing-Fork | elFinder |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | MPL-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Java | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,894 | ★ 4,804 |
| First released | 2017 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Google Drive | Google Drive, Dropbox |
What are Syncthing-Fork and elFinder?
Syncthing-Fork
Syncthing-Fork is a maintained Android wrapper around the Syncthing core that provides a polished mobile experience for continuous, peer-to-peer file synchronization. It adds battery-aware scheduling and per-folder controls on top of the Syncthing engine.
- Battery-aware sync scheduling
- Per-folder run conditions
- Wi-Fi and charging triggers
- Open peer-to-peer protocol
elFinder
elFinder is an open-source web file manager with a user interface inspired by the macOS Finder. It supports multiple storage backends, drag and drop, and image editing.
- macOS Finder-style UI
- Multiple storage backends
- Built-in image editor
Syncthing-Fork vs elFinder: key differences
Syncthing-Fork is written in Java, while elFinder is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Syncthing-Fork versus BSD-3-Clause for elFinder. ElFinder is the more established project (first released 2010), while Syncthing-Fork arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose Syncthing-Fork if…
- Actively maintained
- No central server needed
Watch out for
- Android only
- Initial setup can be fiddly
Choose elFinder if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Active community (4.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Syncthing-Fork or elFinder better?
Neither is universally better. elFinder has the larger community, while Syncthing-Fork is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Syncthing-Fork and elFinder free and open-source?
Yes. Syncthing-Fork is licensed under MPL-2.0 and elFinder under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Syncthing-Fork and elFinder with Docker?
Syncthing-Fork: check the project docs for container support. elFinder: check the project docs for container support.